Elon vs College of Charleston 2/5/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Charleston Cougars and the Elon Phoenix meet in college basketball action from the Schar Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Charleston Cougars come into this one looking to add to an 84-61 win over William & Mary last time out. John Meeks leads the Cougars in scoring with 15.3 PPG along with 4.8 RPG while Reyne Smith has 12.7 PPG and Brenden Tucker has 11.9 PPG this season. Dimitrius Underwood has 10.4 PPG with a team-high 6.8 RPG and 3.3 APG to lead the Cougars in rebounding and assists as well as capping off the group of double-digit scorers for Charleston so far this season. As a team, Charleston is averaging 78.3 PPG on 42.3% shooting from the field, 33.3% from three and 73.4% from the foul line while allowing 76.1 PPG on 44.5% shooting from the field and 33.1% from three this season.

The Elon Phoenix will be out to build on their 78-65 upset win over UNC-Wilmington last time out. Darius Burford has a team-high 13.2 PPG and 3.2 APG while Hunter McIntosh has 12 PPG with 3 APG to make up the pair of double-digit scorers for Elon up to this point in the season. Torrence Watson also has 9.2 PPG and Zac Ervin also has 7.8 PPG while Michael Graham has 9.8 PPG and a team-high 7.4 RPG to lead the Phoenix on the glass. As a team, Elon is averaging 68.3 PPG on 43.3% shooting from the field, 35.2% from three-point range and 74% from the foul line while allowing 72.6 PPG on 43.3% shooting from the field and 35.6% from three this season.

Charleston is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 road games and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 games overall. Elon is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games against a team with a winning record and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a win while the over is 17-6 in their last 23 games as a home underdog.

I get the case to be made for a home dog like Elon who tend to shoot better at home and are coming off of the big win over UNC-Wilmington. However, I think there could be a bit of a letdown in store after such a big win and Charleston is a talented team that’s yet to really live up to expectations that were set out for them early on this year. Both teams are porous defensively, but the Cougars are the most consistent offensive unit so I’ll lay it and play it with the Cougars on the road here.